My sister hosted a very fun Halloween shindig the other night and I couldn’t wait to share photos here.

She lives in the East Rock area of New Haven, not far from the Yale campus. As I drove over, I had to stop and photograph the bright foliage on display near her apartment. We’re at the point here in Connecticut where the leaves are about half off the trees, but this display is especially impressive:

Bethany baked a homemade apple pie that we all enjoyed later in the evening — it was divine:

She went the extra mile to decorate her apartment. It’s her first Halloween here and the place looked fantastic:

Table of treats:

Beth adapted a recipe that my mom and aunt make called White Trash — it’s a mixture of ingredients covered in white chocolate. The standard items are Chex mix and pretzel sticks, and Beth added candy corn to the mix. (It’s also really good with nuts.) This recipe is always a hit and yields an enormous batch — despite the fact that about 10 people were picking on it all night long, it seemed to be a bottomless bowl.

Beth joked that there were already some spooky elements to her apartment so she didn’t have to jazz things up too much for the holiday. One such item is this sketch of our great-grandfather and his first wife, which someone in our family unearthed years ago. Beth’s bar is stocked with alcohol left over as TV props from her years as an Art Department Coordinator on various television shows.

My sister really gets into planning her Halloween costume every year. Maybe five or six years ago she started in earnest, picking a female role model and putting together a unique look with a few key props. In past years she’s gone as Shari Lewis, Angela Lansbury (as Jessica Fletcher), Jane Goodall, Nancy Drew, and one of the Golden Girls.

This year Beth picked Amy Poehler as Leslie Knope from Parks & Rec. She killed it.

She even made a simple costume for her little puppy Oscar — he went as Li’l Sebastian, a miniature horse featured on the show.

Here’s a few more shots around her apartment before the guests arrived. Fun fact about my sister: she is a woodworker and designs her own tables and other pieces. Check out her site for more info on her products and designs. And if you’ll be near New Haven on December 5th, she’s selling items at the Holiday Haven from 2-9pm.

Cuddle time with Oscar before the party kicks into gear:

Beth made the painting over the couch — isn’t it great? I love how the chevron pattern is echoed in other parts of the room, like the rug and a frame on the bookshelf.

Beth has access to a decent-sized porch just outside her front door. It’s a great space to hang out and relax when the weather cooperates, as it did on Halloween this year. Luckily it was a mild night — I remember some Halloweens growing up where it was freezing!

We’re just about to carve pumpkins when the first guests arrive…

Emily comes dressed as “the woman who has it all” — a career, baby, and glass of wine. Idea found via this link: 19 Funny Feminist Halloween Costumes.

And Carrie is an octopus! Eight arms with the assistance of an umbrella.

We ordered take out pizza from Modern Apizza… SO GOOD, as always.

After dinner we got tired of waiting for kids to knock on the door, so we took matters into our own hands and stood on the front stoop with a giant bowl of candy. Soon enough lots of families came over. It was really fun to participate and interact with the neighborhood.

There are no photos of me from Halloween eve, but I snapped a selfie earlier in the day of my attempt at a costume: I used a decorative mask that my uncle brought back from Venice many years ago. It’s been on display in my room forever and in a last-ditch effort to dress up I wondered, “Maybe that mask will do the trick…” I put it on just when we were handing out candy and it was a nice touch.

But here are some costumes from the party that are way more creative: Sherlock Holmes, Cupid, and Toad from Super Mario Bros. video games.

And my favorite costume of the night goes to Ruth “Baby” Ginsburg, the daughter of my sister’s college classmate. How adorable is she?! It’s hard to tell in the photo, but she’s wearing pearl clip-on earrings. LOVE IT.

While the best part of the night was sitting around the dining room table chatting over wine and pumpkin ale and treats, we did carve three pumpkins into proper jack-o-lanterns and even put my sister’s wig collection to good use:

Such a fun night! Major thanks to Bethany for hosting us and putting so much effort into the food and decor — it was very much enjoyed by all.